BUT NOW I SEE
John 9:1-41
1) Here’s mud in your eye! (1-12).
• Who sinned? (1-3) It was a popular misconception that one could actually sin in the womb, and would thus suffer by having some birth defect. It was also a misconception that all human suffering was the result of either a parent’s sin or the person’s. Although in Exodus 20:5 it does say that God will punish the children for the sins of the father what that means is that the sins of the father can be carried down and continued upon the next generation and thus, the children will end up suffering because they had poor examples as fathers. That’s why we see verses like Deut. 24:16, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.” Nonetheless, the misconception remained that suffering was a result of sin. No room was left for another possibility. This was the problem with Job’s friends. God had to make things clear to them and Jesus is making things clear for his disciples. We need to understand this as well. We can automatically conclude that our afflictions are the result of God punishing us for something we did. Although it’s true that God will enact discipline for our ungodly behavior, we shouldn’t conclude that all suffering is due to sin. The danger in this erroneous assumption is that it can drive a wedge between us and God. I will paint this picture of God as this tyrannical beast who is just looking for me to mess up so he can punish me. Or I conclude that because I’m suffering God doesn’t love me. This will bring me to the place to become angry and resentful at God and it will push me into depression concluding that my situation is hopeless with God turning his back on me. I believe if you are suffering because of sin God will make that clear to you.
• Spit+mud+Jesus=miracle! (4-7) Here we see that God had allowed this man to be born blind to demonstrate miraculous power. The blindness was needed in order for the miracle to occur and the testimony that followed. One of the biggest questions is why does God allow suffering? Here we see that God allowed this man’s blindness for the purpose of divine power and for the testimony to that power. You may be asking, “why me”? If you would trust that God wants to do something great in your life through your affliction you will see why and instead of saying ‘why me’ you’ll be saying, ‘thank you’. But notice that this man didn’t receive the miracle until he obeyed the miracle worker. He wasn’t able to see until he completed the process. I’m sure this man thought it perplexing. Here’s this stranger spitting in dirt and smearing it all over my eyes and then telling me to go and wash in a pool. Now perhaps he thought, “Eh, what have I got to lose?” More likely he had the faith that believed that he was going to experience a miracle. We have the saying, “seeing is believing”. Well, for this man, and for the rest of us who wish to be cured from our blindness-believing is seeing. It’s a lesson for us. God may ask you to do something pretty strange. Go with it. If we dismiss it because it sounds too absurd we could miss out on the miracle.
• The testimony (8-12). Jesus giving sight to the blind was a prophesied Messianic work. Isa. 42:1, 6-7. Thus this miracle was further evidence for Jesus’ validity. Vs. 1-‘this man was born blind’. This man must’ve been well known at least to the disciples since they knew this man to be blind from birth. This would be important so as to provide validity to the miracle. There would be testimonial proof that this man was not faking it since it was known that he had been blind since birth. Then the man’s neighbors were wondering about what had taken place. Some were in disbelief saying, ‘no, it can’t be him. It must be a look-alike’. Then we see the man clarifying things, “No, it’s me alright”. Then they ask him for an explanation and he gives it. We who were once blind but now we see need to tell others who will listen how it came about for Jesus to cure our blindness.
2) The investigation (13-23).
• Jesus-sinner or saint? (13-17). Here we see a hot debate going. The Pharisees concluded that Jesus must be a sinner since he did this wonderful work on the Sabbath. Jesus dealt with them before on this subject when he healed the cripple by the pool in chapter five. The Pharisees had so corrupted the law and had added stipulation upon stipulation regarding breaking the Sabbath that they had said that if anyone used saliva for medicinal purposes on the Sabbath it constituted work and was therefore a violation of the Sabbath. Saliva was known for some medicinal properties back then (although healing a blind person wasn’t one of them). Some were arguing that there was no way a sinner could do such things. So they ask the blind man what he thought about this man and he answered-‘he is a prophet’; which is to say, ‘he is sent from God’. He saw what they didn’t see.
• Bring in Ma&Pa (18-23). The blind man was willing to put himself on the line to declare Jesus to be sent from God. His parents, however, were not so willing. But before we get too harsh with the parents we need to understand the gravity of the situation. It was no small thing to be excommunicated. It’s not like today where if you were kicked out of one church you could go down the street and find another one. There was only one “church” then. And if you were put out of the synagogue you were considered an outcast of society. Not like today where the general public wouldn’t care. So it was a life changing event to be put out of the synagogue. Be that as it may, what we see here just highlights all the more the bravery of the blind man. He was willing to risk angering the religious leaders and be put out of the synagogue. His parents, however, were not so willing to incur the Pharisee’s wrath. However, they did attest to the facts. “He is our son and he was born blind.” The Pharisees were probably hoping they would say something like, “well, he was never blind he just faked it to get a handout all these years. He and Jesus must’ve concocted this fake healing.” So, their collaboration of sorts with what their son had said was not what the Pharisees had hoped for. However, what’s upsetting is that the parents should’ve been rejoicing over the fact that their son could see but instead they are put into a position to be afraid and thus, putting the burden on their son in order to not suffer the consequences of being put out of the synagogue. The blind man honored God while the parents honored themselves. The blind man feared God while the parents feared man. And that, by far, is wiser. Jesus said in Matt. 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” God may allow man to kill my body but he can’t do a thing about my soul. God, however, has control over both body and soul. Prov. 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” Persecution may come but we need to stand firm; our life is in God’s hands and nothing will happen to us apart from him letting it happen.
3) Schooling the schooled (24-34).
• One thing I do know (24-25). The blind man’s response to their question didn’t mean that he thought that Jesus was a sinner, he was simply testifying to what he knew to be irrefutably true. This is helpful for us ‘simple-minded folks’; especially for those who are new in the faith. We wonder how we are going to answer people who are able to produce fine sounding arguments and debates concerning the authenticity of Jesus. But we see that the blind man wasn’t swayed by any of it. He was wise enough not to try to argue about what he didn’t know-he just simply testified to what he did know. And what he did know, what he did have, was his testimony. And think about the power behind his testimony. The miraculous-once blind but now he can see. So it is with us. We have a testimony of change. We can testify to others what we were compared to what we are. We provide listeners the stark contrast. We can tell them: I once was enraged now I’m calm. I once was depressed now I’m joyful. I once was hopeless now I’m hopeful. I once was greedy now I’m content. I once was blind but now I see.
• Getting under their skin (26-29). Here we see the blind man is starting to get under the skin of the Pharisees. I like how he isn’t swayed by their interrogation. I’m sure the reason for them asking him to recount the miracle was in hopes of trying to see if he would tell a conflicting story. But the man doesn’t give them the satisfaction. Instead he pushes back. Interesting that the Pharisees were trying to get him all flustered and it’s the former blind man who gets them all hot under the collar. Vs. 27-28-We see that the man counted himself as Jesus’ follower. And we see him sarcastically asking the religious leaders if they want to become one too. V2. 29-their insults provided further evidence that he was getting to them.
• Not just eyesight; insight (30-34). Vs. 30-33-Here we have the unschooled taking the schooled to school: “Remarkable; even I know that God doesn’t honor sinners yet somehow that fact has eluded you. You are so blind.” Various passages in scripture point to this principle of God not listening to or honoring the wicked but rather the righteous. One such passage is Psalm 66:18-19, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.” So here we have this “layman” recalling scriptural truth to the ones who shouldn’t have needed to be told it. Jesus not only gave this blind man eyesight; he gave him insight! Vs. 34-that was all they could take. We see them reacting the same way they did to Jesus when he put them in their place-with pride. The Pharisees had branded Jesus as a demon-possessed, blaspheming, Sabbath-breaker. Even though Jesus had proven himself to be none-of-the-above their unwillingness to gain understanding would keep them resistant and blind. “For centuries people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong. Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle’s death. In 1589, Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right.” Sometimes the truth can be staring us in the face and we choose not to believe it.
4) Who’s the blind one now? (35-41).
• Eyes that see Jesus (35-38). Vs.35-Jesus went looking for the man. The keepers of the temple kicked him out but the owner of the temple sought him out. We see which one was interested in the souls of men. We can see why the blind man would have been quite distraught. He is ostracized from his place of worship. He’s not able to go inside the temple and view its magnificence and worship God. And he’s also been ostracized from his own parents. The parents he’s now able to see for the first time. Again, this should be a time of celebration but instead it’s a time of despair. So, Jesus comes to his aid. We can take this to heart that when we are persecuted for the faith Jesus will come to be by our side and encourage us. Vs. 36-38. The man believed in what Jesus had done for him and had recognized him as a prophet but was ignorant of Jesus being the Son of God; the Savior. Now Jesus gives this man the opportunity to believe this as well. And he does. 38-He wasn’t allowed to worship in the temple but that didn’t mean he was exempt from worshipping God. This doesn’t mean that church isn’t necessary but it shows that true worshippers worship inside and outside the church. The Pharisees worshipped inside the temple but not outside. The irony is that the opposite was also true. Their worship of God was external but not internal.
• Spiritually blind (39-41). Vs. 39-Althought Jesus came to save the world not condemn it those who choose to stay blind stand condemned already because of their refusal to believe in Jesus. Vs. 40-theirs was not a sincere question but they were speaking what they considered an absurdity: “What are you saying; that we’re blind? How absurd!” Their pride would keep them blind. Vs. 41: the sin Jesus is referring to is willful rejection. The man born blind was not guilty of rejecting Jesus because he was not aware of who Jesus was. Once Jesus revealed himself to the man he readily believed. Contrast the Pharisees who had eyes to see because they had the scriptures that told about the coming of Jesus but yet through their pride, not their ignorance, they chose not to see. Therefore they would be held guilty because they had heard the truth and had seen the truth, but were still resistant to it. The ones who thought they could see were shown to be blind.
CONCLUSION: The man born blind had a progressive view of Jesus that was lacking with the religious leaders. At first the blind man saw Jesus as a man (11). Then, he came to see Jesus as a prophet (17). He was now more than a man, he was one specially sent from God to speak the words of God. And finally, he came to see him as the Son of God (38). The blind man, who was blind no more came to see Jesus for who he clearly was; more than a man, more than a prophet-the Son of God; the Messiah. The Pharisees should’ve seen it but didn’t. Jesus gave this blind man more than the gift of physical sight; he gave him the gift of spiritual sight. There are some here today who could see Jesus for who he truly is but haven’t yet. You’ve had the opportunity to embrace him as your Lord and Savior but you’ve resisted. Perhaps you don’t see yourself as blind. The Pharisees didn’t think they were blind nor did they think the devil was their father. Unfortunately both were true. They were slaves to sin. They had eyes but were unwilling to see through them. How about you? When will you be singing, “I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see”?
